It Was Supposed to be Subtle!
by Alli Elizabeth
Summary: I kinda like this one. It dragged out a little bit, though. Oh well. Odd's amazing and his hair is epic. : Oddxoc Oddoc Oneshot. Rated T because... well... that's how I roll.


I set my suitcase on my bed and collapse next to it, breathing a sigh of relief, "Made it..." I glance at my case, "...And _now_ I have to unpack." I heave myself up and open up the suitcase, putting my clothes in the drawers and my hoodies in the small wardrobe. Once that's done, I take my beloved, Luna Andromeda Floyd Flame Grape Guitar from its case and put it on its stand next to my desk. I grin at it in all its purple glory before setting up my laptop and plugging it in to charge. After that, I pull my skateboard from the bottom of my suitcase and lean it against the side of the desk. Finally, I unpack all of my quazibillion books, notebooks, and sketchpads and set them on their shelves. I glance at my phone's clock: 2:34. 'Hmm... What to do with myself now...' I eye the wide-open door. '...I guess it wouldn't hurt to explore a bit.' And so, I wander out into the hallway of the girls' dorms and just start walking wherever.  
"Give it back, Sissi!"  
My ears perk up at a small-sounding voice not far away.  
"Ha, why would you want it back?"  
Curious, I follow the voices to the other end of the hallway.  
"After all, only _babies_ play with dolls..." says a snobby girl's voice.  
I come upon a girl who looks about my age, dangling a teddy-bear just out of a younger girl's reach. My eyes narrow, I silently come up behind her and snatch the bear from her hand, completely surprising her. "If that's true, then why would _you _want it?"  
She looks completely taken back at my interruption.  
I turn to the little red-head and hold out the bear to her, "Here ya go."  
She smiles brightly and accepts it, "Thank-you so much!"  
The older girl, who I presume to be Sissi snaps, "Just who do you think you are!?"  
I look at her and pretend to be thinking hard, "Well... last time I checked, I was Abbie Katz. Who do you think _you_ are?"  
She crosses her arms indignantly, "Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter."  
I roll my eyes, "Ooh, you're a special one." I look down at the other girl with a small smile, "And what's your name?"  
She smiles back, "I'm Milly! Milly Solovieff!"  
I nod, "Nice to meet you, Milly. I'd get outta here if I were you, though; before the wicked witch over there tries to snatch your bear again."  
She glances at Sissi and nods, "Thanks again, Abbie!" and runs off, probably to her room.  
I turn back to Sissi, "So was there any real reason for you to be picking on her? Or are you just that lacking of a life?"  
She glares at me, "I'll have you know I do _so_ have a life! In fact, the only reason I was picking on her was because she needs to grow up! People in the real world eat babies like her for breakfast!"  
I snort, "Yeah, definitely. 'Cause you're just the epitome of kindness and good intentions..." I shake my head and go back the way I'd came, heading for the stairs.  
"Where do you think you're going!? You think you can just walk away from me!?"  
"I don't _think_ I can, I am," I reply, not even glancing over my shoulder at her. I turn into the hall where the staircase is and stop short. There are three kids standing there, two boys and one girl, looking at me with surprised expressions. "...What?"  
They glance between each other before the boy with brown hair answers, "Nothing, we just... well, we couldn't help but overhear your little 'conversation' with Sissi there."  
I shrug, "She's obnoxious and conceited. I wasn't about to stand and watch while she bullied that poor girl."  
The other boy, who's dressed in purple and has spiked-up blonde hair with a random purple highlight eyes me, "Ya know, I don't think I've ever seen you around before, and I NEVER forget a face..."  
"That's probably because I'm new. Just got here a little while ago and unpacked." I give the three of them a slight smile, "Name's Abbie Katz, and _please_ no lame jokes about my last name."  
They laugh a bit, and they introduce themselves as Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi.  
"So where are you headed?" Yumi asks me.  
I shrug, "Nowhere, really. I got all my stuff set up and put away, and now I'm just sorta looking for something to do."  
Odd grins, "Hey, why don't you come hang out with us? We're on our way to see our other friends, and I think they'd like you."  
I'm a little uncertain about it, "Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to intrude on anything..."  
Ulrich chuckles, "Don't worry about it. Besides, we're inviting you, so that means it's okay."  
I nod, "Alright, sure then."  
I follow them down to the boys dorms and to a room where there's a blonde boy with glasses at a computer and a girl with... pink hair watching him. Hmm... pink.  
"Hey, Jeremie! Aelita! There's someone you two have to meet!" Odd says enthusiastically, like a little kid.  
The two of them turn around and look from him to me, and the boy questions, "Who's this?"  
Yumi steps up next to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, "This is Abbie Katz, a new student. We met her in the hall after she told off Sissi." She laughs at the last part. She turns to me and gestures to the other two then, "Abbie, this is Jeremie Bulpois and Aelita Hopper."  
Aelita smiles at me, "Nice to meet you, Abbie," and holds out her hand.  
Returning the smile, I take her hand, "Thanks, you too."  
Jeremie does the same, "Welcome to Kadic, Abbie."  
I shake his hand too, and then his computer randomly starts beeping loudly. I look over his shoulder at the screen, ' "Tower activated"? What's that supposed to mean?'  
Jeremie mutters to himself, "Not again..."  
The other four look at each other, and Odd sends me an apologetic look, "Sorry, Abbie, but we gotta go take care of something."  
I tilt my head, "What's going on?"  
Jeremie gets up and heads for the door. "It's nothing, don't worry. It's just something that we... forgot about. Uh... my computer's alarm went off as a reminder, yeah... Sorry, but we'll see you when we come back, okay?" he says, sounding rushed. He and the others then walk hastily out of the room and head downstairs, leaving me in Jeremie's room by myself.  
I sigh, 'Great.' I look around the room, and my eyes land on Jeremie's computer. I bite my lip, 'I know I really shouldn't...' I hesitantly walk over to the computer, '...I just want to know why they ran off so suddenly, that's all...' Glancing over my shoulder, I turn the monitor back on and check out what's on the screen. There's a picture of a tower-looking thing that's glowing red. There's also a little message in the corner, 'Tower number thirty-four under attack on Lyoko... What the hell does that mean?' Thoroughly confused, I open up a file browser and type "Lyoko" into the search.

When it displays its results, there's a whole mess of files labeled "Lyoko Log". 'Hmm...' I open the first one, and read it, only what I read doesn't really make any sense to me. 'The factory? A supercomputer... and scanners? So... Lyoko's a virtual place... and Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and Aelita go there to fight off something called X.A.N.A.? This is too weird...' Figuring this is all something out of a Sci-Fi movie, I shake my head and leave the room. 'Might as well go see for myself...' I go back up to my room and grab my skateboard before going back to the ground level and taking off for the big factory not too far away. 'That must be the one it was talking about,' I figure.  
It takes me about ten minutes to get there, and when I do, I find that I'm on an upper level with no way down. 'Hmm... How to get down to that elevator...' I notice a few cables hanging from the ceiling and smirk, 'That'll do.' I slip one of my skateboard's wheels through a belt-loop so it won't go anywhere, then grab one of the cables and slide down. I land easily on my feet and unhook my skateboard before making my way to the elevator. 'So... which floor? Err, let's go wiiiiiiith... top floor,' I push the button, but nothing happens. 'Outta juice?' I sigh, then look up at the hatch on the elevator's ceiling. 'Ooh, that could work...'  
I climb up and open the little door, then notice a maintenance ladder on the shaft's wall. 'Yes!' And so, hooking my skateboard on again, I start climbing. 'Good thing heights don't bother me, or this might be a problem...' I muse once I've climbed out of seeing distance from the elevator. Eventually, I get to the point where I can see a door, where the ladder ends. 'That must be my stop.' I get up there and cling to the wall while I locate the emergency open button for the door. 'There we go!' I press it and wait for the door to open, which it takes its sweet time doing. I un-cling myself from the wall and get to safety through the door before it closes again.  
When I really look around, my eyes practically bug out of my head. "Whoa... Cool." I take a few steps into the room and look closer at the huge computer in its center. "This is awesome..." I murmur.  
"Hey! What're _you _doing here!?" comes Jeremie's voice from behind the computer.  
I jump and whirl around to look at him, "Uhh..." I look down sheepishly, "I sorta... got curious about where you guys ran off to. And well, curiosity has always been a problem of mine..."  
"Jeremie? Who're you talking to?"  
My forehead scrunches up in confusion, "...Was that Ulrich? Where is he?"  
Jeremie sighs, "Bad news guys. Abbie's here..."  
I tilt my head, "Why is my being here a bad thing?"  
"Because this place is supposed to be a secret. ...Hey, how did you know to come here, anyway?"  
I look down again, "Uh... yeah, about that... You left your computer on."  
Realization hits him, "You read my files!? Why would you do that!?"  
"Jeremie, focus here! Which way do we go?" It's Yumi's voice this time.  
"Are they on... Lyoko?" I ask hesitantly.  
He gives me a look, but sighs and nods, "Yes. Just how much about all of this do you know?"  
I shrug, "Whatever was in your first log entry. But only the first one. After that, I shut the monitor off and came here to check it out."  
He sighs again, "Right..."  
"Hey, Einstein, what do we do? You said X.A.N.A. hasn't launched his attack yet, right? All he did was mess with the elevator. There's no point in a return to the past." That's Odd.  
Jeremie puts his head in his hands, "I'm not sure. You're right, though, a return to the past would just give X.A.N.A more power, and we don't need that..."  
I blink, "...If you guys are talking about what to do about me knowing, I'm not going to tell anyone."  
Jeremie looks at me, curious.  
I take a breath, "Why would I go off and tell everyone? That would make me a jerk, like Sissi. Besides, you're doing good here. Why would I mess that up?"  
He seems to consider this, but the computer beeps, drawing his attention.  
"The tower's been deactivated, Jeremie," It's Aelita now.  
"Okay, I'm bringing you all back." He types something into the computer, then gets up and goes over to the door, "Come on."  
I follow him as he brings up the elevator, which now miraculously works.  
We board it, and Jeremie makes it go down a level. When it stops, we walk out into a room with three tube-looking things that are lit up.  
The other four are standing there, eyeing me carefully.  
Feeling like I've done something REALLY bad, I look away off to the side.  
"So what do we do?" Yumi asks.  
"Well..." Jeremie starts. "...I think we can trust her."  
Surprised, I look at him, "Really?"  
He nods, slightly smiling. "You said it yourself, 'Why would you tell anyone'?"  
I grin and nod.  
Yumi looks unconvinced. "I'm not so sure about this, guys..."  
I bite my lip and look at Jeremie again, "This happens randomly, right?"  
He nods, "Why?"  
"How's this? I'll keep your secret, I swear. And since I probably can't do anything to help here, I can help cover for you guys at school. ...I'm really not going to say anything to anyone. I have no reason to," I explain, hoping they'll all believe me.  
With a shared glance, they all smile a bit and nod.  
Ulrich smirks, "I guess this makes you one of us, then."  
I blink, "...Seriously?"  
He nods, and Yumi smiles, "Welcome to the gang, Abbie."  
"Heh, wow... Thanks a lot."  
Jeremie puts a hand on my shoulder, "There's just _one_ thing you have to do first."  
I eye him wearily, "...And, what's that?"  
He leads me over to one of the tube things and nudges me towards it. "Get inside and you'll see."  
I give the thing a once-over and cautiously step inside it, then turn around to find that Aelita's gone and the others are heading to the elevator, Odd being the exception.  
"You might wanna give me your skateboard," he says. "You'll see why in a few seconds."  
I shrug, "O-kay," and hand it to him.  
He nods, then waves, earning him a confused look from me.  
Then the doors close and I nearly have a heart-attack.

And so, about a month later, we're all hanging out in Odd and Ulrich's room. I'm sitting on the floor playing with Kiwi, the adorable little mutt, while Jeremie messes with his laptop and Aelita watches over his shoulder. Odd's showing Ulrich some new CD or something. Yumi's the only one not here; she had something to do with her parents.  
I smile down at the little dog, "Good boy, Kiwi."  
He barks from his place in my lap, then virtually goes to LaLa-Land when I start scratching behind his ear.  
Odd looks down at me with a face that says he just remembered something. He gets something off a shelf, puts it on my head, then starts laughing. It feels like a headband, so I reach up and slip it off and bring it down to look at it. Even I have to laugh when I see it.  
Cat ears.  
"Gee, thanks Odd."  
He shrugs, still smiling insanely. "I thought it fit."  
I laugh again and shake my head, then look at it for a second and put it back on my head. "I hope you know you're not getting this back now."  
"Fine by me; I can't use it for anything."  
Chuckling, I answer, "It's going up on my shelf when I'm not wearing it, so I'll see it every time I look up."  
Ulrich looks down at me from his bed, "You know, you've been friends with us for over a month and we've never seen your room." He smirks, "You hiding something, Abbie?"  
I snort, "No. You just never asked."  
Odd gets all hyper now, "So can we see then? Please? Pleasepleaseplease?"  
I giggle, setting Kiwi back on the floor. "Sure." I get up and start out of the room.  
Jeremie clicks his laptop closed and follows the three of us.  
I lead them up to the girls' dorms and to my door. I unlock it, then swing the door open and let them inside.  
Odd immediately sees my most prized possession. "Whoa... This guitar is so cool, Abbie! I didn't know you played!"  
I shrug, sitting down on the bed. "Again, you never asked."  
"Is that your answer to everything we accuse you of not telling us?"  
"Yep!" I reply with a smile.  
Jeremie goes over to my desk. "What are all these papers?"  
I jump up, eyes wide, and start gathering them up, "Nothing!" I go to put them in my dresser, but I drop one in my hurry.  
Before I can say anything, Ulrich picks it up and looks it over. His eyes go wide, "You write your own music?"  
With a sigh, I take the paper back and put it in the correct place in the pile. "Yeah, but it's nothing all that serious. I just write whatever I feel like and put it to a melody."  
Odd grins, "Can you play something? I bet you're actually really good."  
I shake my head, "Noooo way."  
"Aw, come on! Just one song! Pleeeeeeaaaaase?" He begs, giving me a pleading look.  
I stare at him for a second, then heave another sigh and pick my guitar up off its stand. "One song. Only one."  
He cheers, "Yeah!"  
Rolling my eyes, I sit down on the bed again and think of what to play.  
This is when my door opens and Yumi steps inside, "Hey guys." She looks around, "Wow, nice room Abbie."  
I smile a little, "Thanks. How'd you know we were here?"  
"Sissi was whining about Ulrich being in another girl's room. I figured this was where you guys would be." She eyes my guitar, "You're gonna play?"  
I nod, "Unwillingly, but yes."  
"Cool." She sits cross-legged on the other bed and smiles, "Go ahead, then."  
I shrug one of my shoulders and start playing the opening to one of my best songs. With a deep breath, I start singing:

_Too alarming now to talk it out  
Take your pictures down, shake it out_

_Truth or consequence, say it aloud  
And use that evidence, and race it around_

_There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary_

_Don't the best of them  
Bleed it out  
While the rest of them  
Peter out_

_Truth or consequence, say it aloud  
And use that evidence, and race it around_

_There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary_

_Kudos my hero  
Leaving all the best  
You know my hero  
The one that's odd_

_There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary_

_There goes my hero  
Watch him as he goes  
There goes my hero  
He's ordinary_

I take another breath and smile at the others, "Happy?"  
Aelita grins, "See? Odd was right. You really are good, Abbie."  
I shrug, getting up to put my guitar back on its stand.  
Odd looks like he's thinking hard about something, then looks at me again, "When did you write that song?"  
"Umm... last week. Why?"  
"Did you write it about someone you know?" he asks curiously.  
I fight back the light blush working it's way to the surface. "Maybe..."  
Now Yumi's curious. "Did you?" she asks with a grin.  
I slap my forehead and sit back down, "Yeah, I did, okay? Big deal..."  
Ulrich chuckles, "So who is it? Someone you like?"  
My blush wins and takes over, "Well... sort of?"  
He smirks, glancing at Odd and back at me.  
My eyes widen, and I sigh exasperatedly.  
They all laugh at me, though none of them had seen him indicate Odd with his eyes.  
"Maybe _this_ is why I didn't show you my room sooner..." I mutter.  
Yumi and Aelita laugh. "If you want us gone, just say so," the former says.  
"I never said that."  
"But you implied it," she points out, getting up and heading out the door. The others follow, but I stop Ulrich by grabbing his collar.  
"You walk with me, pal," I say with narrowed eyes.  
He smirks, already knowing what I'm getting at. Once we're a little out of earshot, he says quietly, "It is him, isn't it?"  
I glance at Odd briefly, "...How'd you know?"  
He chuckles, "Heh, one of the lines in your song sort of tipped me off, and I could tell by his face that he caught it, too."  
I look at him strangely, "...Which one?"  
"One of the last ones: 'You know my hero, the one that's _Odd_'. Sorry Abbie, but I don't think that even _he_ could be slow enough to miss that."  
I slap my hand over my eyes, "Ugh, I'm so screwed." I stop and turn around, "I'm gonna get my homework done early guys. See ya tomorrow!" I can tell they're all confused, but it sounds like they all go back to the boys' dorms anyway. I head back to my room by myself, actually planning on doing my homework for real. I go to close my door, but something stops it.  
When I turn around, Odd's standing there with his foot in the doorway.  
"Odd? What's up?"  
He shakes his head, "Nothing, I uh, just wanted to hang out here, if that's okay with you?"  
Getting a weird feeling about this, I nod, "Sure thing. I'm just doing homework, though."  
He shrugs and follows me in, sitting down on the other bed while I get out my notebook with the questions from Ms. Hertz's class. "Hey, Abbie, I had a question about your song."  
I tense for a second, but try to act cool about it. "Yeah? What is it?"  
"Well, you don't have to tell me since it's not really any of my business, but... who'd you write it about? Ulrich said something about it and I got curious."  
I chuckle, "Of course you got curious; that's, like, your thing." I look at up at him from staring at my notebook, "...What did Ulrich say?"  
His face tints the slightest shade of red, "...He said that you, uh... well, that you wrote it... about me." He shakes his head, "I told him he was crazy and that he was-"  
"Right," I interject, looking back down at my notebook.  
He pauses, probably thinking he'd hallucinated or something. "...Did you just say he was... right?"  
"Y-Yeah, I did, because he was." I venture a glance at him, "...I wrote the song about you, Odd." 'There. I said it.'  
He blinks at me, "So then, the one you like is...?"  
I nod, not trusting my voice right now.  
He sighs, almost sounding... relieved? "Well, that's good. I can't even tell you how scared I was for a while there."  
Now it's my turn to be surprised, "Wait, scared? Of what?"  
He blushes again, "I thought that you had a crush on someone else, and that would've killed me because... I've actually been trying to figure out a good way to ask you out for two weeks now."  
"...Seriously? You like me, Odd?"  
He grins and nods, "And now that I know you like me, I can do this!" He gets up and comes over to my bed. He leans down and kisses me, completely catching me off-guard. When he pulls away, he smiles through his blush, "Will you be my girlfriend, Abbie?"  
I smile back and giggle, nodding slightly.  
He grins and runs out into the hall.  
Confused, I get up and look out my door, "Odd?"  
"WOO-HOO!! SHE SAID YES!! YEEAAAHH!!" he cheers, running down the hall and to the boys' dorms, probably to "inform" the others.  
I shut my door and lose myself in hysterical laughter after that.


End file.
